 "we should know how to live in a crowd", a conversation with githa hariharan |
Welcome Guest ( Log In | Register ) · View New Posts
  |
| arnab |
 Sep 8 2005, 08:38 AM
Post
#1
|
 bandwidth glutton Group: founding members Posts: 14726 Joined: 21-July 04 From: northfield, minnesota Member No.: 1  |
another subcontinent presents our latest feature: "we should know how to live in a crowd", a conversation with githa hariharan. this feature is now live on our home site. we invite your thoughts and feedback on it here.
-------------------- yeh sab kya ho raha hai, beta duryodhan? arnab@anothersubcontinent.com |
   |
 
|
| hibiscus |
Sep 8 2005, 11:26 AM
Post
#2
|
||||||
 member Group: bandwidth eaters Posts: 5785 Joined: 10-April 05 From: Singapore Member No.: 401 |
What a excellent interview, Arnab. Hariharan struck a chord right from page 1 with
It just feels like she's articulating exactly what one thinks of at that stage in one's life. I've always liked Hariharan for being more "real", almost instantly identifiable with as "someone like me", and this chat just reinforces that. She and Deshpande are possibly the two writers I'd say are unpretentious, based on what they say outside of their work (interviews and essays etc). I particularly loved
 It must have been pretty thrilling for you as a reader and a teacher of her work, to talk to her like this. Am looking forward to the other interviews.  Ed to add: I was actually in the middle of reading the interview when I posted the above... it just gets better!
I love that, absolutely love it.
Am in serious danger of gushing here, so better stop.  But this I must say, that it is a very refreshing pleasure, given some of the dreadfully uninformed tripe that passes for interviews sometimes, to read one such as this. This post has been edited by hibiscus: Sep 8 2005, 01:02 PM -------------------- |
||||||
|
|
|
||||||
| frangipani |
Sep 8 2005, 05:50 PM
Post
#3
|
||||||
 bandwidth eater Group: moderators Posts: 4689 Joined: 17-May 05 Member No.: 486 |
Ditto. Excellent interview, Arnab! I almost felt I was in the background with a cup of chai in the garden, nodding to things she said. What a measured, thoughtful voice. Very assured about her work and objectives, at the same time, I thought, very straightforward. I liked the discussion on reception/location of writers and Indian/English writing (was reminded of Hibiscus' idli description!). Not because it said anything particularly new, but because she put it so well:
Very well said, and very, very true. I also found her thoughts on literature and the recovery of the past very interesting; both in the context of her own work and her discussion of Ghosh.
Good way of describing how he tried to bring reality and fiction together in GP.
-------------------- I'd rather have an orchestra in front of me, than a helicopter behind.
- Sadanand |
||||||
|
|
|
||||||
| Jai Malhar |
Sep 8 2005, 06:48 PM
Post
#4
|
 member Group: bandwidth eaters Posts: 1944 Joined: 5-September 04 Member No.: 117 |
Excellent interview.
This post has been edited by Jai Malhar: Sep 8 2005, 07:53 PM |
|
|
|
| kristin |
Sep 8 2005, 07:19 PM
Post
#5
|
 member Group: maha contributors Posts: 696 Joined: 20-August 04 From: Atlanta GA USA Member No.: 103 |
Very interesting interview. I haven't read any of her work so this opens up another bunch of books I look forward to reading very soon.
kristin |
|
|
|
| arnab |
Sep 8 2005, 07:38 PM
Post
#6
|
||
|
bandwidth glutton Group: founding members Posts: 14726 Joined: 21-July 04 From: northfield, minnesota Member No.: 1 |
most of githa's books are available from amazon (click here) and at indiaclub.com (click here). i'm glad you're all enjoying the interview. one of the things that thankfully doesn't come across in the transcript is just how non-fluent i was in posing my questions and comments--there is no future in television interviewing for me, i'm afraid. githa, on the other hand, is exactly the thoughtful, measured person live that she reads like in the transcript. i am also not sure if one gets a sense from the transcript of just how pleasurable the conversation was. we spoke for more than 90 minutes and the time just flew by. she is a very busy person but i am hopeful that she may be able to take some time to participate in this discussion and possibly even take a few follow-up questions. This post has been edited by arnab: Sep 8 2005, 08:47 PM -------------------- yeh sab kya ho raha hai, beta duryodhan? arnab@anothersubcontinent.com |
||
|
|
|
||
| sagar |
Sep 8 2005, 08:57 PM
Post
#7
|
 member Group: maha contributors Posts: 110 Joined: 10-August 04 Member No.: 79 |
great interview, arnab. this prompts me to definitely read her work.
|
|
|
|
| Anjali |
Sep 8 2005, 09:05 PM
Post
#8
|
||||||||||||
 member Group: bandwidth eaters Posts: 4489 Joined: 2-February 05 Member No.: 260 |
A wonderful, and if I may say, erudite interview-- and I mean that as a high compliment. I interviewed Karnad the last time I was there and not only was I not prepared with the kind of complex questions you ask here, but I couldn't follow up as well as you did here either. A good lesson on interviewing for me, this one. Also, loved the way you use part of her quote
as a title for the interview. Great metaphor for what she is trying to say throughout. I think that what I was struck wth most was the immense humility of the writer. She consistently refuses to be a spokesperson, the figurehead for any one viewpoint:
I am most curious about her connection to Ramanujan, of course. She mentions that he was the primary influence and also that Karnad was another one:
And later she says:
I can see a clear link between this experience with women, with their ability to transport, interpret, retell myths and the work of Ramanujan and Karnad. Would love to hear her expand on this, if possible. And finally loved her very unassuming and wonderful description of "social commitment," one that avoids all the current cliches:
Many thanks, Arnab. Now if only you put all those interviews up there soon enough-- can't wait to read them as well. And if at all Gita Hariharan comes online, can't wait to hear her speak some more. This post has been edited by Anjali: Sep 8 2005, 09:56 PM -------------------- Nietzsche: “We possess art lest we perish of the truth.”
|
||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||
| champa |
Sep 8 2005, 09:18 PM
Post
#9
|
 member Group: bandwidth eaters Posts: 2616 Joined: 23-November 04 Member No.: 191 |
good questions, nice interview. great photo. thanks.
so, what was for lunch? -------------------- Show me your jalwa . . .
"When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras, unless, of course, you're in Africa." |
|
|
|
| ajit |
Sep 9 2005, 12:19 AM
Post
#10
|
||||||
 bandwidth eater Group: founding members Posts: 4926 Joined: 21-July 04 Member No.: 2 |
I found intriguing the contrast between the quotes:
.. and later..
|
||||||
|
|
|
||||||
| arnab |
Sep 9 2005, 12:28 AM
Post
#11
|
||||||||
|
bandwidth glutton Group: founding members Posts: 14726 Joined: 21-July 04 From: northfield, minnesota Member No.: 1 |
ajit, i don't think there's really a contradiction between the first two quotes. in the case of "feminism" she's claiming it against specific characterizations; in the case of "culture" she's merely indicating that the word doesn't have a clear meaning anymore. i'm not sure what you're contrasting the third quote to? -------------------- yeh sab kya ho raha hai, beta duryodhan? arnab@anothersubcontinent.com |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
| ajit |
Sep 9 2005, 12:52 AM
Post
#12
|
||
|
bandwidth eater Group: founding members Posts: 4926 Joined: 21-July 04 Member No.: 2 |
Just that the third quote uses the word 'culture' after all. |
||
|
|
|
||
| lekha |
Sep 9 2005, 12:13 PM
Post
#13
|
|
bandwidth eater Group: moderators Posts: 2373 Joined: 10-February 05 Member No.: 269 |
thanks, arnab, a delightful conversation, and an important one too, no? your students will really benefit.
|
|
|
|
| hibiscus |
Sep 9 2005, 12:20 PM
Post
#14
|
||
|
member Group: bandwidth eaters Posts: 5785 Joined: 10-April 05 From: Singapore Member No.: 401 |
Yes, one does! I'm sure that contributed to the quality of the interview. -------------------- |
||
|
|
|
||
| arnab |
Sep 9 2005, 08:54 PM
Post
#15
|
|
bandwidth glutton Group: founding members Posts: 14726 Joined: 21-July 04 From: northfield, minnesota Member No.: 1 |
all,
i checked with githa and she said that she will be happy to answer a few follow-up questions from our members. if you post them here i will communicate them to her and post her responses. arnab -------------------- yeh sab kya ho raha hai, beta duryodhan? arnab@anothersubcontinent.com |
|
|
|
| Anjali |
Sep 15 2005, 09:55 PM
Post
#16
|
|
member Group: bandwidth eaters Posts: 4489 Joined: 2-February 05 Member No.: 260 |
Arnab, here is a question for Gita Hariharan:
As you say, Ramanujan has been an inspiration for many writers in India. Girish Karnad, for example, claims him as one of the most important influences on his work. But Ramanujan’s translations/collections of folklore must have impacted Karnad’s work differently, I imagine, than yours. So, can you speak more about your connection to Ramanujan’s work? Which aspect of his oeuvre—proverbs/folkore, Tamil translations, English poetry, Kannada poetry—has been the most influential and in what manner? This post has been edited by Anjali: Sep 15 2005, 10:05 PM -------------------- Nietzsche: “We possess art lest we perish of the truth.”
|
|
|
|
| vAtraT |
Sep 15 2005, 11:35 PM
Post
#17
|
 member Group: bandwidth eaters Posts: 2689 Joined: 21-January 05 From: here to (unholy) Trinity Member No.: 240 |
What? So now I'm supposed to read up on Gita Hariharan, too?
Damn. Suppose I want to read that ONE representative book that'll give me a zhuluck of what she's about, so I can appear well-read at the next gathering of Beautiful People, what would you recommend? (I promise to follow it up with more of her soon after, I promise.) The way you all are prostrating in front of her, a read seems essential. I note, from a brief browse on the Web, whatever her literary merits, that she successfully sued the supreme court in India to equalize SOME aspects of the status of women (vs. men) in the family. |
|
|
|
| arnab |
Sep 15 2005, 11:50 PM
Post
#18
|
|
bandwidth glutton Group: founding members Posts: 14726 Joined: 21-July 04 From: northfield, minnesota Member No.: 1 |
vatrat, a good way to start would be to make your way through the stories in "the art of dying". "the thousand faces of night" is my favorite of her novels--something she was ambivalent about hearing before the interview proper began!
-------------------- yeh sab kya ho raha hai, beta duryodhan? arnab@anothersubcontinent.com |
|
|
|
| champa |
Sep 16 2005, 01:30 AM
Post
#19
|
||
|
member Group: bandwidth eaters Posts: 2616 Joined: 23-November 04 Member No.: 191 |
i would love to see her discuss "'in times of siege." from concept to final draft. one review
are her books taught in colleges in india? -------------------- Show me your jalwa . . .
"When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras, unless, of course, you're in Africa." |
||
|
|
|
||
| frangipani |
Sep 16 2005, 01:33 AM
Post
#20
|
|
bandwidth eater Group: moderators Posts: 4689 Joined: 17-May 05 Member No.: 486 |
I also have a question for Githa:
Could you talk a little more about "remembrance" and the importance/uses of the past in your work? I agree that it is an important theme, and also one that is very much present in our political landscape, but I'm curious about how you see the work of literature with respect to this representation of the past, as opposed to history. Is what Ghosh has done in Glass Palace one way to tell forgotten histories, but more effectively than historians would? I have another question about Basava, too, but for later! -------------------- I'd rather have an orchestra in front of me, than a helicopter behind.
- Sadanand |
|
|
|
| arnab |
Sep 16 2005, 01:46 AM
Post
#21
|
||
|
bandwidth glutton Group: founding members Posts: 14726 Joined: 21-July 04 From: northfield, minnesota Member No.: 1 |
champa, i think you might want to narrow your question down a little... -------------------- yeh sab kya ho raha hai, beta duryodhan? arnab@anothersubcontinent.com |
||
|
|
|
||
| champa |
Sep 16 2005, 03:25 AM
Post
#22
|
||||||
|
member Group: bandwidth eaters Posts: 2616 Joined: 23-November 04 Member No.: 191 |
ok, let me try again.
for someone like her, an activist, a person with strong convictions, it must be difficult to maintain distance between writer, author, and the narrative. i think she balanced these with finesse in her work The Art of Dying, which can be with justification described a splendid piece of feminist ficiton. it seems to me it did not work so well in the novel, ITS. would it be fair to descibe it as polemic novel? did she have any particular difficulty while writing the novel in that respect? -------------------- Show me your jalwa . . .
"When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras, unless, of course, you're in Africa." |
||||||
|
|
|
||||||
| Nichiro |
Sep 16 2005, 06:29 AM
Post
#23
|
 member Group: bandwidth eaters Posts: 2496 Joined: 23-May 05 From: Southfield Michigan Member No.: 502 |
Would it not be appropriate if we learn ,
"How to leave the crowd ?" Ed: to add "not" This post has been edited by Nichiro: Sep 16 2005, 06:31 AM -------------------- |
|
|
|
| arnab |
Sep 22 2005, 11:19 PM
Post
#24
|
|
bandwidth glutton Group: founding members Posts: 14726 Joined: 21-July 04 From: northfield, minnesota Member No.: 1 |
i have sent githa the questions posted here. she will unfortunately not be able to respond till monday at the earliest and asks for everyone's indulgence. she fell down some stairs and cannot sit at a computer just yet.
-------------------- yeh sab kya ho raha hai, beta duryodhan? arnab@anothersubcontinent.com |
|
|
|
| arnab |
Sep 26 2005, 10:53 PM
Post
#25
|
||||
|
bandwidth glutton Group: founding members Posts: 14726 Joined: 21-July 04 From: northfield, minnesota Member No.: 1 |
herewith githa's answers to the three questions i forwarded to her. she apologizes for the brevity of the responses--she is only able to sit at the computer for a few minutes each day. githa:
-------------------- yeh sab kya ho raha hai, beta duryodhan? arnab@anothersubcontinent.com |
||||
|
|
|
||||
| arnab |
Sep 26 2005, 11:30 PM
Post
#26
|
||||
|
bandwidth glutton Group: founding members Posts: 14726 Joined: 21-July 04 From: northfield, minnesota Member No.: 1 |
githa responds:
-------------------- yeh sab kya ho raha hai, beta duryodhan? arnab@anothersubcontinent.com |
||||
|
|
|
||||
| Anjali |
Sep 26 2005, 11:45 PM
Post
#27
|
||||
|
member Group: bandwidth eaters Posts: 4489 Joined: 2-February 05 Member No.: 260 |
What strikes me through the interview (and her reply here) is the conscious thought behind her work and the articulate exposition of it--- in her work and outside. I don't mean to imply it is all dry ideas (she is an amazing wtiter)-- just that she also analyses her own writing so competently. It has left me wanting to hear more from her. -------------------- Nietzsche: “We possess art lest we perish of the truth.”
|
||||
|
|
|
||||
| arnab |
Oct 5 2005, 10:25 PM
Post
#28
|
||||
|
bandwidth glutton Group: founding members Posts: 14726 Joined: 21-July 04 From: northfield, minnesota Member No.: 1 |
i just realized i had missed the second page of the document in which githa had sent the answers. here's her response to champa's question:
i am hopeful that githa may have some time later to perhaps take some more questions, but i know she is very busy and trying to catch up with everything else that got put on hold as well when she had her accident. -------------------- yeh sab kya ho raha hai, beta duryodhan? arnab@anothersubcontinent.com |
||||
|
|
|
||||
| xena |
Jul 27 2009, 11:38 AM
Post
#29
|
 member Group: bandwidth eaters Posts: 2112 Joined: 12-October 06 Member No.: 3005 |
great interview, arnab.
QUOTE(arnab @ Sep 8 2005, 08:38 PM)  githa, on the other hand, is exactly the thoughtful, measured person live that she reads like in the transcript. i went for a couple of book readings this weekend and githa hariharan's new book fugitive histories, was one of them. she read a sample of her work from other books as well and had an q & a session with a panelist and the audience. she is amazingly assured in her speech - i have rarely seen such fluency of thought in answering fairly complex questions. so much so that i think the audience found it slightly intimidating - it took a whle to process her last answer and there was such a flurry of questions, i fear we missed out on much she said because of the lack of time to absorb it or to explore what she answered at a deeper level. they were recording it, so if they put up a transcript it would be good. she began assuring us that we would leave saying "fabulous reader" (or some such term) and that is true - she read excellently, and not too many authors do - made the written word come alive. i wonder if she is one of the writers who sounds even better read than written. read by her, that is, because she is definitely very comfortable with performing - had the audience eating out of her hand with charm and witty answers. -------------------- What the bandar-log think now the jungle will think later
|
|
|
|
|
1 User(s) are reading this topic (1 Guests and 0 Anonymous Users)
0 Members:
| Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 21st November 2009 - 04:00 AM |
Invision Power Board
v2.1.7 © 2009 IPS, Inc.